Influences on the urban fabric formation process in pericentral neighborhoods of Maputo: The case of Chamanculo C, Maxaquene A and Polana Caniço A

Abstract

The urban history of Maputo city is marked by socioeconomic, political and cultural transformations that are reflected in the production processes of the urban fabric. In this article, we identify different contextual periods that determine these urban processes throughout the history of the city and identify the different occurrences and the contours of influence that marked them. The city of Maputo developed dualized, containing in itself two distinct cities - the “cement” city, called urbanized, and the “caniço”(reed) city, peripheral and composed of self-produced areas.. The urban fabric underwent several interventions, within the framework of urban plans and urban policies, through public and private initiatives that influenced the variety of urban typologies found in the peripheral neighborhoods of the city. We propose to analyze three pericentral neighborhoods, which, although similar for their development in the peripheral belt of the urbanized city center, for the high population and housing densities and for the predominance of self-construction, have distinct urban fabrics: the neighborhoods of Chamanculo C, Polana Caniço A and Maxaquene A. Through a diachronic and synchronic analysis, and taking into account the urban differences mentioned, it is intended to understand which factors throughout the history of these neighborhoods influenced and determined the different processes of production of the urban fabric.